The Elemental Sage
by The Dark Angel Michael
Summary: Naruto is called upon by the spirits because of his beast. Now he must watch and guide the young Avatar on his journy to return balence to the world. NarutoXAvatar. NaruXKata AangXToph. Oh and it's a Power Naruto. he doesn't use full power a lot though.
1. Chapter 1

AN: this is my first real crossover. Naruto x Avatar: the last air bender. I love both shows and I wanted to try to blend them together. The hardest part is finding a way to get one group to get to the others world while maintaining some form of seriousness. I think I've found a good way but that's for all you to decide. NaruxKata AangxToph. All the characters will be slightly out of character because like all my other stories, this will be rated M. Language, Violence (more so than the actual avatar series), and sexual content.

ANN: I'd like to point out that energy bending it the ability Aang used to take away Ozai's fire bending. Definition- The ability to bend life energy. It predates the main four bending arts, as well as the arrival of the Avatar and the formation of the four nations. By bending one's life energy you can impart them with vast knowledge instantly or remove one's bending completely. (Actual info I got of off Avatar Wiki.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar.

He ducked again. There weren't many other options when fighting a Sannin. Even if the man was his teacher and one of the oldest ninja alive, he could still move, and he could still fight. Naruto was on log that was balanced over a river, sparing with his sensei. It wasn't so much a spar as it was a 'don't get hit or you're falling into the river' game though. It was his favorite game too. This was the game he could beat Jiraiya at.

He wasn't as skilled in Taijutsu as Jiraiya, but Jiraiya was using a slow moving style that focused on attack and defense. It was the best strategy when fighting on a log that was less than two feet wide but strategy had never been his thing.

Again, he dropped his upper body down, narrowly avoiding Jiraiya's kick. 'Now.' He thought. There was a small opening on his ribs every time he attacked. It didn't matter if it was a kick or punch or even one of Jiraiya's hair whips. Every time he attacked his shoulders lifted slightly, allowing him to keep his balance, and let his ribs show slightly. He jumped to the left, off the log, his feet touching the water for a second before he shot back towards the opening in his sensei's defense.

He felt hands touch him, and he felt his balance leave him before the cold water covered him. "Damn it." He yelled under the water. The gurgled sound wasn't heard by anyone else. He resurfaced to hear the Jiraiya's laugh, filling the area. "How'd you do that?" Naruto demanded as he climbed out of the water. He could do it as if the water itself was land. His Chakra control had become astounding since his training with Jiraiya had started.

Two and a half years ago, when he fought Sasuke, he could run on the water as if it were land but it took a small amount of concentration. Now it was second nature. Unless he was caught off guard or intentionally getting into the water then he was on top of it.

"You're good Gaki, but you're a way too young to take me down with such an obvious move." Jiraiya answered, his laugh becoming louder as he walked back to the shore. It was true, it was an obvious attack but it almost worked. He knew the flaws in his styles and he hadn't expected Naruto to notice the small opening in his guard. Luckily he'd stopped Naruto before the blow could land. If it had then Naruto's ego would grow. Anyone's would when they learned that they were getting close to the level of Sannin.

Grumbling to himself, Naruto followed. It had been awkward between two recently. Jiraiya always looked as though he was thinking about something and whenever Naruto asked he'd brush it off. Eventually, Naruto decided to stop asking altogether. So they sat at camp, neither speaking. The small crunch of bones being the only noise coming from the small circle they'd made around the fire.

Jiraiya snapped the leg off the chicken and bit into it. It had been surprising to see the chicken appear that morning but it hadn't been unwelcomed.

"Were going to have a final training exercise with Kyuubi's Chakra tomorrow." He said, breaking the silence.

"Final?" Naruto asked. He was used to training with Kyuubi's Chakra. It had become part of their normal regimen after his Chakra control had reached Jonin level. He wanted to know why they would be stopping it.

Jiraiya nodded and swallowed the piece of chicken he'd bitten off. "Were going to start heading back to Konoha in three days and I want to have one more lesson in controlling it. if we do it tomorrow then we can bring you up to four tails and still head back to the village without worrying about them sensing it." that was the exercise. He would go into his Kyuubi state (the thing where he grows the Chakra tails) and hold it for as long as he could. Usually he could last two days but if he was exerting himself then he could make four.

He'd never held four tails for more than a day though and he was barely able to hold onto himself with it. He looked to Jiraiya, hoping for an explanation.

Jiraiya sighed when he saw the look in his pupil's eye. "I'll be here the entire time and I'll seal the Chakra if you lose control again." He said, before he answered the other question he knew Naruto would ask. "We're pushing four tails because I know you can handle it and truthfully I wanted to at least get you to five before we returned to the village. Time is against us though so were going to push four."

"Oh." Was his response.

He was happy that it was time to go home. He could see the people he'd missed in the two years he'd been gone. Kiba would be first he though with a smirk. He had to show the Inuzuka up just so he could laugh at the face he knew Kiba would make when he got beat. 'Then Sakura.' He though. When he first left, all he could think about was the girl, now she was a passing though. He didn't know what brought the change but to him it seemed right.

She was his friend, the closest he had and he liked that. It seemed… wrong, to try to change that.

"Get some sleep Gaki." Jiraiya said, "The next few days are going to be tough. You're going to need the rest." Naruto couldn't sleep while he was in his Kyuubi state. They'd learned that the hard way when Kyuubi almost broke free.

"Yeah… G'night, Ero-Sennin." He said as he rolled out his ground pad. He wasn't really tired, not by a long shot. He was too excited about the thought of being back in his home. It took nearly an hour for him to fall asleep but eventually he did.

Jiraiya looked over Naruto the entire time, waiting for him to fall asleep. He got most of his real work done while Naruto was asleep after all. It was when he wrote the information scrolls that were sent back to Konoha and every now and then he would meet with one of his informants from the other countries. Something was wrong though. He watched Naruto intently, waiting for something to happen. He didn't know why but it felt as though there was a presence in the area.

The first sign of it was the Natural Chakra in the area. There was something wrong with it. To Jiraiya it felt as though someone was using it but he knew that he was the only one that currently could. Only the Toad's used the Natural Chakra that was in the world and out of the two living signers of the contract he was the only one who had been taught how to control it. But it felt as though it was being pulled somewhere.

He felt it then. All the Chakra that he felt was being pulled had been used, all of it at one time. With the potency of Natural Chakra the amount used could have destroyed the forest they were in if it was used in the right Jutsu but the only sign of its usage was a faint glow over Naruto's stomach.

He was next to the boy in an instant, pulling back the thin sheet that Naruto had covered himself. The glow was coming from the Kyuubi's seal. The entire thing was shining through Naruto's shirt. Jiraiya pulled the shirt up, silently hoping that Naruto would wake up and understand what was happening. Four kanji marks appeared. Air, Water, earth, and fire. One more and it would have been the Gogyō Fūin.

**(Mindscape)**

"Water, earth, fire, air." He heard it as a whisper. It didn't bother him much, he knew about the elements, their strength, uses. He himself had an affinity to wind. "The fifth." It was still a whisper but he noticed that it was louder. 'Raiton.' He thought to himself. 'Suiton, Doton, Katon, Futon, and Raiton.' They were the five affinities that were known to ninja. Of course there were sub-elements he couldn't control any of them though.

'Energy.' It was right next to his ear, he could feel the hot breath spread over his skin. 'The fifth is energy. A forgotten art, older than time itself.' The voice was still growing louder, though he could tell now that it was male.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, not really caring. He'd pieced together that this was a dream; first of all he remembered going to sleep.

He heard footsteps approaching him. An odd feeling washed over him. It felt like, as strong as he was, he could be crushed. He felt helpless and he didn't know why. 'The ability to bend energy is older than the separation of the elements, and even the cycle of the Avatar.' It was close now and a full voice, not just a whisper. There was still no person to go with it though. 'Your guardian is needed.'

There was another voice then. It was deeper and just as independent. He looked around desperately for a body but there was none. **"Afraid that's impossible."**

It became whispers then. Too quiet for his ears to hear. He wanted to yell in frustration. The weight that seemed to hang in the air was going to drive him crazy. He knew that it couldn't really be there, it was a dream, but it was so real. He could feel the rise and fall of his chest, and he could feel the sweat that had accumulated on his palms. It was too real.

'Energy bending.' It was a choking noise almost as if the voice was surprised. 'I understand why your kind is all but extinct. Such perilous suggestions. What if his body rejected.' The deep voice spoke again. Naruto didn't understand it though. He was just glad he could hear them again. Their voice's seemed to relax the tension he felt. He didn't understand what was causing it but he knew that he'd never felt as helpless as he did now, not even when he was a child.

'Fine.' The voice spoke again. 'We don't have long and arguing this any further is pointless. Your mind is clearly made up and I'm forced to agree that it is the easiest way, if not the most dangerous.'

"**A coin will always have two sides. Sometimes we have no choice and must make the decision regardless of the consequences."**

'When will you be able to do it?'

"**Tomorrow will be the next chance I have. You'll need to act as a guide to the other side though. Once it happens you will only have a few minutes to get him through."**

'That's fine. As long as it happens.' Naruto tried to speak, to find out what the disembodied voices were talking about. His voice was lost though. 'Thank you, Avatar Yoko.'

"**That isn't my name anymore." **There was a tinge of regret in the words.

There was no response. Naruto looked around again, hoping to see anything other than the darkness that had surrounded him. There was nothing again. Just dark nothingness that went on for as far as his vision could go. It was scary, he would openly admit it. It was scary to see the nothingness span out in every direction. It was as if he'd ceased to exist. He briefly wondered if this was what death felt like, to be taken in by eternal nothingness, to be embraced by death.

He shook off the thought as he refocused on the current situation. He walked forward. There was no visible floor, or even a sound to indicate his footsteps, but he could feel the solid surface beneath him. So he walked, there was no use for direction here. There was no use for anything.

It felt like days had passed, but he knew that it had been only hours. But this was a dream as well, time had no meaning here. Finally there was light. It was odd because it seemed to appear out of nowhere but he wasn't complaining. He was finally able to see something. It was small. He knew that it was because it was far away. So for the first time since he'd entered this dark, nothingness, he ran. He forced his legs to move. The darkness scared him right now and he finally saw a way to get out of it.

It was slowly getting larger untill it was nearly consuming everything. He could deal with endless light. The darkness faded as he got closer too it untill the darkness was completely gone and all he could see was light. Light that covered everything. He sighed in relief, slightly surprised that he heard it. The light had overcome the darkness.

**(Real world)**

He opened his eyes letting the light that shown through the canopy hit them. It stung slightly, to stare directly up into the light, but after his dream he was willing to let them sting a little.

"Finally awake."

He sat up slowly. Looking over to see Jiraiya. His sensei was looking at one of his books. What surprised Naruto was that it was one of his actual research books. He'd read it himself when he wanted to learn a little about sealing. It'd been the most confusing week of his life and eventually he settled on simple storage seals being enough. "Yeah." He mumbled as he stood up. He was still exhausted for some reason. His stamina was something he praised himself on but right now he felt like falling over and not getting up for… ever.

"Go wake yourself up." Jiraiya said. The usual happy-go-lucky tone gone. "We're starting the Kyuubification right away. The sooner we start the sooner it'll be over and we can go back to Konoha. Remember three days. No matter what happens we're heading back then."

It meant the goal was to hold the state for three days and remain sane. Naruto didn't like the sound of that. He didn't like goals at all in his Kyuubi state. If he wasn't focused on staying in control then he _would_ lose it and a deadline was something else to think about.

"Yeah." Naruto said gain. "I'm going to jump in the river first."

Jiraiya watched as he left. Naruto looked tired today, he noted as he looked back down to his notebook. Something was going on whit the seal and he wasn't sure what. That was the only reason he was reading a book on seals. His was unique, written by the fourth Hokage himself. His previous student was the creator of the seal and right now Jiraiya needed some insight onto how it worked. Something that he missed the last time he'd read it. He simply needed to understand why an incomplete Gogyō Fūin (Five Elements seal) appeared on Naruto's stomach.

He knew that Orochimaru had placed a full Seal on him when he was younger but he removed it himself so there was no possible way that, that was the cause. What other explanation was there though.

He flipped the page of the book, back to Minato's notes on Gogyō Fūin. It was supposed to be a five element seal but there were only four. Lightning was missing from them. He cursed as he turned back to the Shiki Fūjin. There was nothing. None of the notes, from possibly the best seal master that he knew, could tell him anything about the appearance of the seal.

Naruto didn't seem to notice it, he thought, so it must not have been a painful process like the normal Gogyō Fūin is. Naruto did seem tired though, that never happened. Naruto was the most energetic person alive, even in the morning. He snapped the book shut, any longer and he might tear it apart. Even it had none of the answers he'd been looking for since the previous night. He hadn't slept at all, looking for a possible cause. His sealing scrolls were lying everywhere. He'd put his notebooks back inside them when he was done with them but he never put them away.

"You ready yet, Ero-Sennin?" he hadn't even heard Naruto return. Either the boy was getting better or he really was focusing too hard on this.

"Yeah, come here first though. I want to look at the seal for a minute though." If he couldn't find anything in the books then he would inspect it himself.

Naruto was curious about why Jiraiya wanted to inspect his seal but in the end he didn't ask. He wouldn't understand what Jiraiya would say anyway. So he walked to his sensei without question. He pulled his shirt up to his chest, exposing his abdomen to Jiraiya.

It was odd. That was the first thing he noticed about the seal. If you could call the thing a seal. As far as he could tell it wasn't but at the same time it held all the same properties of the Gogyō Fūin.

**(Mindscape)**

"**Do it." **Yoko said to himself. **"Do it now."**

**(Reality)**

Jiraiya pressed his fingers against the four kanji marks. "Ichigyō Fūin (One Element Seal)" he whispered as he pressed his thumb against the spot where the final element should have been. He didn't know if it would work but if he was able to complete the seal then he would be able to remove it like he had before.

Naruto felt Jiraiya's thumb press against his skin but nothing else came after. Only pain erupted. Every nerve in his body flared with pain before he fell back. There had only been one other time he could remember being in so much pain and that was the Chunin exams. Orochimaru's seal had practically fried every nerve ending he had in his body. Naruto felt his knees buckle as he dropped to the ground. He met Jiraiya's gaze when he hit the ground.

"**NOW!"**

Naruto felt Kyuubi's chakra pouring out of him. It was like he was activating the Kyuubification process. Every limb was coated in the crimson cloak. He looked up to see Jiraiya already moving away from him. The Chakra burned his skin away when he reached three tails, it always happened but it was only a tingle because of the Chakra. He felt the fourth tail come and with it brought another rush of power.

This wasn't supposed to happen yet. Jiraiya jumped back as soon as he saw the first tail sprout. He'd only intended to remove the mysterious seal that had appeared on the boy the previous night. This wasn't part of the plan. He wasn't supposed to start untill the seal had been removed.

_**Power transcending time.**_

It was a wisp in the air, but Jiraiya's trained ears heard it.

_**Transcending the four elements. The life energy of the soul.**_

It sounded dream like, as if the wind itself was carrying the words through the small area that they had made their camp in.

'**Balance, in every world… is more important than the life of one' **even through the rush of Chakra Naruto could hear the word's in his head. It was the voice from his dream, the voice he'd believed to be nothing more than his imagination playing out for him to see. He felt the pull now, the tension that he'd felt the previous night. It was concentrated now. All of it was focused on him. Forcing itself into him.

"**I WILL BE FREE!!!!!!" **Yoko screamed as he pulled himself from Naruto. This was the only chance he would have to complete it.

The cloak of Chakra pulled itself from Naruto's skin leaving the boy bare, the burnt remains of his clothes still hanging to his body. It stood in front of him, five other tails sprouting out of it, while it maintained the semi-human form.

The crimson hand's reached out one placing itself on Naruto's forehead the other over his heart. **'True heart, true mind.' **Naruto still heard it in his head, though he was barely aware of what was happening. The tension was on his pushing against him, making everything else blurry, undeterminable. He knew that the Chakra had pulled itself from his body but he couldn't bring himself to do anything about it.

Jiraiya watched in horror. Nine flame red tails flung wildly behind the Chakra cloak, lashing out at everything. The trees were destroyed, the grass burnt. He was doing his best to avoid them as he tried to get to Naruto.

Everything stopped. Silence filled the air before the ringing started. The Chakra cloak became a solid red, almost plastic like color, while a plastic like blue covered Naruto's form. He couldn't do anything. Slowly, the red slid down Naruto covering all the blue that made his body._** Life energy. The power to bend the soul.**_ It shot up, into the sky. The Crimson light was emitted from the two forms. Naruto and the Chakra cloak. It passed the clouds, forcing them out of its way, and continuing into the still visible stars. It was the morning twilight. Where the morning sun pushed out the last of the darkness.

The gust of wind forced Jiraiya back, throwing him into the air even when he glued himself to the ground using his Chakra. "Naruto!" he yelled as slammed against a tree, held onto it by the strength of the wind. His eyes were shut, unable to stand the light, as he tried to push himself off the tree. He needed to get to Naruto. As far as he could tell, this was his fault and the Kyuubi could be escaping. He wouldn't forgive himself if Naruto died because of him.

"You understand don't you?"

_**Water, Earth, Fire, Air.**_

_The four elements, the strength of the Avatar._

_**Gone for a hundred years.**_

_The time for awakening has arrived._

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Blue flared, enshrouding everything, the pillar of light, Naruto and Kyuubi, everything.

_**First you must die.**_

_One cannot exist in both worlds._

A smile formed on the face of Kyuubi. It had worked. Energy bending had always been the most dangerous of the arts but it was the most powerful. Naruto knew everything now and he knew what was most important.

_I'll go then._ The light slowly faded, leaving only Naruto in the clearing. Even the Chakra cloak had vanished. Naruto stood. His back hunched slightly, his eye's glowing blue. _My death will affect this world's balance. But it will repair itself with time._

_**The world you are destined to needs you more than you will know. Even with my knowledge you will never truly understand the effect you will have.**_

The glow faded, and Naruto fell to the ground. Jiraiya was next to him in an instant… confirming his death.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: I like giving Announcements at the beginning of each chapter, it makes the empty page seem less empty and anyone who writes knows how demoralizing the empty page is. So yeah, ANOUNCEMENT!!!!! Have fun reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar: the last air bender

He woke instantly. His eyes flew open as he shot up. He didn't recognize the place he was in though. It was a swamp of sorts. There were trees, mud, even vines running everywhere. He didn't feel attached to it though. He felt like there was something missing, something important. It was like he wasn't a part of the world.

"You aren't."

He appeared in front of Naruto. His torso bare, torn and tattered pants covering his lower body. Yet even with his unsightly appearance, the man seemed to radiate power. It made Naruto want to hide or run away, anything to be away from the source. He stayed though. The man's face was familiar to him but he'd never seen him before. "Where am I?" he asked simply. He had many, many more questions but they could wait. He needed to know where he was first and find out who the man in front of him was.

"Yoko gave you the knowledge." He said. His voice was bordering monotone "You should know where you are and why you're here. Now follow and refrain from asking pointless questions." He turned around. His back was scarred horribly. Naruto almost flinched when he saw it. Blade wounds running up and down, even across. Puncture marks of different sizes and depths. He was surprised that he kept them there. It was his understanding that once you were in the spirit realm you could look as you pleased.

"Oji?"

"I keep them because of what the mean to me?" the man answered Naruto's unspoken question. "I gained them by fighting for what I believed to be right. I keep them to remind me of that. That I died fighting for what I knew to be the right cause."

Images flashed through Naruto's mind. Flaming fields, armies marching through them. Fighting… death. It was vivid, like he'd actually been there. He felt a dull pain in the center of his chest at the thought.

"Yoko was my friend when we were alive. It was an amazing time. The nations were the pinnacle of society, the capitals spanning miles. Everybody was health and everybody was happy. The earth nation wanted more though." he sighed as he stepped onto a small lake. Naruto followed without thought, stepping onto it after him. "Like so many times before, the fire nation became involved and the war escalated from the small land struggle it was into a massive attack on the world. The earth and the fire nations joined together to take the water and the air."

He stopped, at the center of the lake and turned back to Naruto. "I… wasn't pleased with my nation's decision, so I left. I never called the earth nation home again. Instead I traveled to the southern water tribe. Unlike now, the southern tribe was the strongest, the most graceful and deadly. They were the first to retaliate when the war began and the main base for the air nomads and the water tribes became the southern tribe's capital. The first avatar was born there."

Naruto placed his hand on his stomach. "Yoko… was my best friend. He was fourteen years younger than me and by the time people realized what he was, the air temples had already been claimed by the 'true leaders' as the Fire lord and earth king liked to be called. He was forced into training. Water bending came first, as he was from the water tribe, then earth which I taught him personally. Fire and air were the most difficult for him to learn. Nearly every fire bender was loyal to the fire nation and those who weren't were too afraid of the repercussions if they were to be caught.

"Eventually we found him a teacher. Sheng, if I remember correctly. With him teaching, Yoko, we left the water tribe. Yoko was fifth teen and I was twenty nine. We had to find an air bender to teach him the final art. It took us two years to find one, Jade, was her name. The earth kingdom had betrayed the fire nation and took the place of overlord of the world. We were running out of time and while Yoko had already mastered three of the elements, air was coming along slowly. It took eight and a half months for him to be strong enough to attack. We'd set up the attack plan years before Yoko was even know as the avatar but we finally had a trump card. Yoko was going to be the key and we were going to bring him there."

Lu Wei, as Naruto now knew him. He didn't know where the name had come from but he assumed that it had come from what Kyuubi had done. Everything that Lu Wei was telling him, he already knew. It felt like the man was describing his life and it was weird.

"We attacked the earth kingdom head on. The great wall had yet to be built, so it wasn't difficult. Their main army was currently in the north attempting to claim the Northern water tribe's capital. The rebellion's entire army was there…"

"Forty two thousand men and women." Naruto added. "Only a third of which were benders."

"Yes." Lu Wei said. "It was small compared to the earth kingdoms main force. But it was the largest army to have ever been raised by a rebellion. We took the earth kingdom by surprise. We'd shown no signs of conflict in the past months. They hadn't expected the sudden assault. Never the less, it failed. Even in their surprise they still maintained the advantage and they used it. Each side suffered but we lost the most." He pointed to his side, where one of the scars wrapped around his torso. "Yoko lost control for the first time. He leveled the earth place and nearly took me with it. Jade calmed him down though. It was the first time I saw some form of emotion from her.

We traveled alone after that, just our group. Most of the avatars have done that during a time of war. Regardless, the northern water tribe defeated the earth bender army. While vastly outnumbered, the water benders had the ocean as their source of power while the earth benders had only weapons. There were some fire benders with them of course, the ones who pledged their loyalty to the earth king, but they were quickly defeated.

"It was a huge win for the rebellion. The earth kingdom's army was heavily damaged and their navy was nearly destroyed. Yoko decided that it was time. He never told us what he meant by that, he simply said that…"

"It was time for the world to be made right. No cost is too great and I have decided that it is time for balance to return." Naruto said, reciting the line perfectly.

"He was gone the next day. I… never saw him again, nobody did. Months passed and we learned that Jade held his child. I was shocked to say the least but I was happy for my friend to have found something good in the dismal times the world was facing. Finally, word spread that the rebellion had won. Me, Shang, and Jade returned to the south immediately. The southern tribe was still the base of command and if anyone knew what had happened, it would be them."

Lu Wei paused for a moment as a pained look crossed his face. Naruto already knew what was coming but he was going to let the man finish.

"Yoko had turned himself over to the earth kingdom." He said, the sadness laced into his words. "He'd been tortured for months before he broke free. He destroyed everything. The entire earth capital had to be rebuilt after it had ended. But the earth king was dead and the army was nearly destroyed. Without command, and through pure fear of the avatar, the earth army surrendered. Yoko died before he could leave the destroyed city. The injuries he'd received during his attack had been too great for even him to survive. So at sixteen, Yoko ended the war and died a hero. The next avatar was born a week later. My daughter, Suie. I didn't even know my wife had been pregnant."

Lu Wei smiled as he ran his hands down his side. "To this day the avatar is a constant reminder to me. A reminder that no matter what happens there will always be someone fighting for what is truly right."

Naruto's hand returned to his stomach. "Yoko wasn't here when I finally died. Wan Shi Tong told me that his spirit had taken another direction and chosen to become a part of the nine guardians of another world." Naruto felt sick suddenly. Lu Wei had said guardians and Naruto already knew that he was talking about the Bijuu. The monsters that had been feared and hated since they came into existence. "Kyuubi no Yoko." Lu Wei said. "The nine-tailed fox. He was sealed into you Naruto and now you will go to his world.

"An air bender named Aang is the current avatar. He is the true avatar, master of all four elements. You will be there though and you will have all four at your disposal, along with the fifth art."

"Energy bending." Naruto said as he shifted his weight.

"Yes. You will be in this world as a guide. This war is worse than the one me and Yoko fought in and things will only get worse if nothing is done. You will be the one who will help guide the avatar, as a friend and as a brother. You will be forbidden to teach him anything for it is the duty of the avatar to find his own teachers and you are not natural to the world. You are for aid and support." Lu Wei reached out and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Despite these rules, you are free. Any personal tasks you must complete are yours to do as long as they do not conflict with your purpose. And any relationships you cultivate will be accepted."

Naruto nodded, accepting the small rules he was given. He knew what he had to do. Yoko had made it perfectly clear. He only needed to know how to get from the spirit world to the real world. "When do I go?" he asked.

Lu Wei looked down at the lake, and nodded. "It is hard to send someone who has died back into existence but it has been done before. For you… all you have to do is dive."

"Huh?" was Naruto's intelligent response. Lu Wei pointed down to the water. It was the exact opposite of the swamp. Underneath the water was the surface but it was different. There was snow and ice instead of trees and mud.

"Avatar Aang is currently frozen in the southern water tribe's land. He will awaken soon and you will be there for him."

"How long before he wakes?" Naruto asked as he backed away from Lu Wei. He was going to jump into the water and he needed a little room.

Lu Wei looked back at the lake for a moment before answering. "Two and half weeks. That should be enough time for you to get used to your new body and bending abilities." He said as he too backed away from Naruto.

"Good." Naruto muttered to himself. "Will I still be able to use Jutsu?" he asked as an after though. With bending there was really no need for it but he was a ninja and he prided himself on it. To not be able to use jutsu would be painful to him.

"Yes. Your home world's skills will still be with you. Your clones will be unable to bend the elements though." Lu Wei said.

Naruto smiled a little. He was still himself then. He knew that in order to do this then he would most likely have to be a different person entirely and being without jutsu would only further that. If he was allowed to keep his skills then he would at least have a reminder of his previous friends and teachers. Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, Sakura, even Sasuke. He would remember them always for they were his family.

"Time is running out." Lu Wei said. "This door will only be open for so long before we shut it. The Avatar is the only person who is allowed to connect to the spirit world and as long as this connection remains then the other human's can come here as well."

Naruto nodded and without saying anything, dived forward into the water.

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This chapter was relatively short but it was mostly an explanation chapter. A way to get Naruto into the other world and explain who Kyuubi/Yoko was. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I hope I managed to get everything.

Peace Out!


	3. Chapter 3

AN: This chapter contains scenes of unnecessary perversion that I blame on the internet for allowing such things to be posted. Lol. In all seriousness this chapter will contain light content. I stress the _light_ part of it. If I had to rate this chapter it would fall under 'K' as there isn't much language and there is no sexual actions described…Yet.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar: the last air bender.

"Damn it!" Naruto shouted as he breached the surface. The water was freezing cold. He shot his head around franticly, looking for the closest landmass or solid block of floating ice. Anything as long as he was out of the water. "Twenty feet." He breathed out as he swam toward the land. It wasn't untill he pulled himself out of the water did he realize that he could have walked across it. It would have saved effort.

He looked around. There was snow in each direction he looked. The ocean was the only place that wasn't covered in the crystalline water. Naruto pulled wrapped his arms around his body. He wasn't wearing anything, he realized. How could he be, he thought, he'd come from the spirit world. Nothing physical could come with him.

His situation wasn't good. That was the sum of it all. He was clothless and freezing with no idea which direction he should go.

"Come on!"

Naruto shot his head in the direction of the noise. Someone was close, close enough to hear anyway. He was sure that it was a yell and even though it was he could barely hear it. It meant that even though they were within hearing distance, they were still a fair distance away. Naked and in the cold a fair distance might as well be miles. "Hello!" he screamed, trying to draw the attention of whoever was nearby. There was no response. "Hello!!" He tried again.

'**Calm yourself.'** Yoko's voice sounded through his head. **'Give them a signal. Open your mouth and breath the fire into the air, show them where you are.'** His voice was tired, winded almost.

"Y-yeah." Naruto said aloud. 'Okay, you know this.' He thought to himself. He had the memories in his head, the knowledge that he needed to know how to do it. There was only the act itself to complete and unfortunately tha was the hardest part.

He took a deep breath, letting the cold air fill him. He felt it heating inside his lungs. It was growing hotter and hotter. It was a great sensation to feel the heat welling up inside his body when he was so cold but he needed to release it or else he would continue to be cold. 'Now.' He tilted his head up and forced the air out of his mouth. Flame erupted from inside him, traveling up his throat and into the sky. He was surprised that it didn't burn at all but he had been the one who created it. He kept the fire going until he needed to breathe again. It had to have traveled at least fifty feet into the air. That was more than enough for anyone around to see.

"HEEELLLP!!" he shouted again, trying to draw them closer. He stopped after that. He needed to conserve his already dwindling energy. He pulled his legs to his chest and cupped his hands in front of his face. He breathed out warm air onto them. It wasn't much but it would keep him warmer than he had been. "Please help." He said quietly to himself. He wanted to get up and move toward the direction he'd heard the voice. His stupidity in the water ruined this possibility though. If he'd gotten on top of the water then he wouldn't have had to freeze in the near zero temperatures of the ocean. Now he was wet in the cold and he could hardly feel his limbs.

"Oh my god." It was closer. Much, much closer than it had been and it was female while the previous voice had been distinctly male. "Sokka!" He heard footsteps now, moving toward him.

"Stay away from him. You saw the flame. Look at him; he has to be a fire bender." Sokka said as he pulled his sister back. The boy in front of them was naked and had virtually no other way of creating flame in the frozen wasteland they were in.

He didn't understand why someone would be out here. They were returning from a fishing trip but this boy was jus there, naked, in the snow. Nobody with any common sense would go into the wilderness of the South Pole alone and it would take an idiot to do it naked. So what was this kid? An idiot, someone who was in trouble, or someone who knew exactly what they were doing. Someone who was planning something and needed to suffer a little for it to play out in his favor.

Sokka wasn't willing to take the chance.

"You look at him!" Katara yelled as she pulled away from Sokka. "He'll freeze to death if we don't do something." She pulled her coat off, the cold air instantly sent a chill through her body but she could tell just by looking at him that the boy was colder than she was. "Here" She said as she draped it over Naruto's shoulder.

It was warm. He felt the heat of that the girl's body had left on the coat. It wasn't untill now did he understand how important heat truly was. "T-t-thank you." he stuttered out, the cold still affecting his body.

"Katara." Sokka said again. Katara was being far too trusting in his opinion. If the boy turned out to be dangerous she could be the first to get hurt. It was his job to not let that happen but here he was doing nothing when she was so close to a potential threat.

"Can you walk?" she asked him, ignoring Sokka. It only got colder as it got darker and they had to be back to the tribe soon.

Naruto blew more air onto his hands. With the added heat of the coat he was beginning to feel his body again though he was far from his normal functioning ability. The water that still coated his body was the problem. 'Okay. Just get rid of the water.' He remembered what Yoko said. He just had to calm down and dive into what he'd been taught. He separated his hands a little and turned his palms away from him. 'Flowing.' He thought as he slowly pushed his hands outward.

Sokka was on guard immediately. "What are you doing?" He demanded as he moved around to face the stranger. He looked to be a normal boy. Blond hair, which was unusual for the water tribe, and tall. The only distinguishable features he held were the whisker marks on his cheeks.

Naruto looked up at the boy in front of him. He looked about fifth teen or sixteen. He couldn't tell for sure but he felt no real threat from him. "I-I'm trying to get t-t-the water of-f-f my skin. I had to s-swim." Naruto said as he brought his hand's back and repeated the previous motion. He could feel the water moving on his skin. It wasn't what he wanted but it was a start at least. Lu Wei had said that he would have time to get used to controlling the elements and he was thankful for it. He needed the time to get used to using them in the place of jutsu.

While he still held the ability to use them, he really didn't want to. They were attacks from a different world and almost every jutsu he knew was specifically designed to kill or harm an opponent. His world was founded on war while this was founded on peace and balance. The elements created balance and he needed to use them.

Katara glared up at Sokka from her spot behind Naruto. "What's your name?" she asked, never looking away from her brother.

"It's Naruto." He said as he pushed again. The water jumped away from him. He felt it leave his skin suddenly and along with it a portion of the cold he felt. He moved the water down his skin and off it, into the snow, until he was completely dry. He knew that the coat was still a little wet but he found it hard to care at the moment. All he was focused on was remaining warm.

Katara knew the motions his hands were taking. It was the first thing she'd taught herself when she was told she was a water bender. That meant that Naruto was a water bender as well. "Sokka. He's a water bender." Katara stated calmly as she moved herself so she could help Naruto walk.

"How do you know? He hasn't done anything… watery." Sokka said. He remembered all the times he'd seen Katara water bend. Every time the water was doing something weird. Naruto hadn't done anything with water. All he'd done is move his hands. Now fire he'd seen and there was no other possible source than Naruto.

Katara shook her head as she pulled up on her coat, trying to help Naruto up. "Come on. Our tribe isn't far and you need something more than just a coat."

Naruto helped as best he could. Even though his body was regaining warmth, it was still mostly numb. Finally he stood his arm around Katara's shoulder. He was glad that her coat was large enough to drop to his thighs. "Again. Thank you." he said as she started to walk him to her tribe.

Naruto didn't know who she was but to him she was an angel. He knew that if he'd stayed in the winter weather then he'd have died in an hour maybe less. The boy that was with her, Sokka, seemed opposed to helping him. He understood it a little. Why would you trust someone you just met? Especially when there had been an unexplainable pillar of fire in the same area that they were. He wouldn't give his trust easily either. Katara had though and by doing it she had saved his life.

Sokka stood back and watched as his sister walked Naruto back to their small village. It was more of a permanent camp than a village but he wasn't going to downplay their home. He didn't understand how she was so willing to ignore the threat that was so obvious. Sure the boy looked innocent enough when he was close to becoming a brick of ice but what about when he was back to full health. He could be dangerous and Katara didn't appear to care.

Katara was thinking the same thing. She knew that he could be dangerous but right now she refused to care. She refused to let her fear stop her from helping him when he was so close to freezing. It was wrong to let something like that stop you from saving a life and she couldn't understand how her brother was even thinking about letting it happen. Sure she understood his caution. He'd been left in charge of defending their tribe and that meant form any possible enemy but Naruto wasn't an enemy as he was. He was simply a boy in need of help.

"Come on Sokka, we need to get back." Katara called back to him. She refocused on Naruto. He seemed to be doing better but she wouldn't be sure till they got back to the tribe and had Gran gran check him.

**(Southern Water Tribe Camp)**

Naruto woke slowly. He half expected to be back in the swamp being scolded for dying before he'd done anything to actually help the Avatar. Instead he awoke to the inside of a tent and clothed. Simple water tribe robes but still more than he'd had. The room was a simple set up. A bed roll in the middle with two poles on both sides holding the thick tarp up. Around the bed were a few small boxes. Most of them were open showing some clothes and other random objects that he assumed to belong to the owner of the tent.

Deciding that where he was wasn't quite important enough to worry about, he pulled the blanket back up to his chin. He felt wonderful. He was rested and warm. He didn't even need to use his 'heat breath.' As he'd dubbed it. He closed his eyes. He felt peaceful in the quiet tent. There was the faint noise of children laughing in the background but he wasn't listening close enough to catch it.

"He's in here."

Whoever said it was older. If he had to guess he would say around sixty maybe older. It certainly wasn't the voice of the one who had saved him and she was the one he wanted to see. She'd saved his life. It was something he never expected to happen. Even in his past life the ones who would have hurt him were far greater than those that even valued him. He held the ones who did close so he had to see her again, talk to her, something.

"Thanks Gran gran." That was hers. Katara, if he heard the boy say correctly. His name had been Sokka that was what Katara had said. "Am I allowed to… ya' know. See him?" she asked. Naruto smiled. She wanted to see him.

"He's probably still asleep but you can go in. don't bother him if he is asleep though." Gran gran said. He was happy that she'd agreed. Earlier, yesterday, or whenever he'd gotten found, he'd been dead tired. Now he was recharged, energized. He felt good. The tent flap opened and he heard footsteps shuffle to his side. He could feel her presence near him. He could feel the connection… the energy. He knew it was from his new found skills. Energy bending. The life energy, He could feel it now. He liked her feel.

She sat quietly next to him, not trying to disturb him. It was nice in his opinion. The silence was calm and in no way uncomfortable. He wanted to talk to her though to say something. "Thank you again." He said, his eyes remaining closed. "You saved my life."

Katara jumped a little. She didn't think that he was awake. She'd only wanted to see him for a little while, maybe learn a little about who he was. She hadn't actual expected him to wake up. Not so soon anyway. They expected him to be out for a few days and he'd only been asleep for thirteen hours. "You don't need to thank me." She said "we were out there and you needed help. Anyone would have done it."

"The guy with you didn't seem like he would." Naruto said as he rolled over to face her. He smiled softly at her. It was his first time truly seeing her. He'd been able to see a fuzzy version of her when she'd saved him. Now he could see her. She was beautiful. As he'd first expected, she was shorter than him. Even though she was sitting down he could see it. she was maybe five' five, five' six. He was at least five inches taller.

"My brother." She said, "His name's Sokka." Naruto nodded glad he'd gotten the name right. "I'm sorry about him. He tends to be overprotective, especially with strangers."

Naruto nodded again. "It's understandable. I guess I should have expected it after the fire. Anyone would be on their guard if they knew a fire bender when around. Seeing my flare, it was a logical decision." He sat up, letting the blanket fall to his lap. "I would be over protective too if I had a sister."

"That was your flare?" Katara asked. She wanted to talk to him that was true. She hadn't expected for him to tell her that he'd sent the flare. He had nothing on him when she'd found him and that only left one possible way for that fire to have been created. It didn't make sense. She'd seen him do the basic water bending movements. She knew them and she recognized them. He couldn't be a fire bender.

"Yeah. I heard Sokka yell and I yelled back. There wasn't a response and I needed someone to help me. I could barely feel my legs and I was already freezing. I needed to get your attention so I gave one." He pulled his hands up to his mouth again and breathed into them. The heated air spread over his palms. In the enclosed tent he realized that he had made it a little too hot.

Katara felt the small tent heat up slightly. Every tent in their tribe was designed to keep the heat it and the cold out. It was their way to stay warm in the constantly cold environment. That was all she needed to confirm it. "You're a fire bender."

"No." Naruto said immediately. He knew that she would be scared if he was. "Not really."

"Not really?" Katara said. She moved away from him. 'Sokka was right.' she thought. He'd been right; the boy was from the fire nation. She'd refused to believe it because his life was in danger and now she felt stupid for allowing herself to help. "How can you 'not really' be a fire bender? You just did something!" she said. Her voice rose slightly, fortunately it still wasn't high enough to draw attention.

"I made it warmer. I was freezing not too long ago and I'm appreciating the heat." He said as he shifted to face her.

'**You have no reason not to tell her what you are. If she trusts you then she can help you keep it from everyone else.' **Yoko told him, trying to help as much as he could.

'Thanks'' Naruto responded. He wasn't sure if he should tell anyone the details of his abilities but if Yoko said it was okay to then he wasn't going to hesitate. "I can fire bend." He said calmly. Katara jumped instantly. He caught her before she could get off the ground, his hand holding her wrist. "I can bend the others too. All of them." a demonstration would be next and he wasn't exactly sure he could giver what she would need. He'd gotten lucky with the flare and he'd barely been able to get the water off his body. He hadn't even tried the other two yet and now he was going to have to show them.

"That's impossible." Katara said quickly. "Only the A…avatar. The avatar is the only one who can use…" she stopped the small attempt at a struggle she'd been making. It obviously wasn't helping anyway.

Naruto responded immediately. He knew what she would be thinking and he knew she was wrong. "I'm not the avatar." He said, "But I'm not lying. I can prove it If you want." He looked around the room again, looking for something that he could use. There was a small jar of water near the bed roll. He assumed that it was for him if he were to wake. He focused on the water and lifted his hand. He felt the tug. It was faint but the water rippled with his movement. 'Come on.' he thought, 'just a little.' He flicked his wrist up.

Katara watched with a bit of curiosity. Her fear was still present but so far Naruto had showed no sign of danger. As long as it remained that way she would stay.

The water jumped up. Only an inch or two but it had been unprovoked. The only cause could have been Naruto. Katara looked back to him. "What about earth bending or air bending? There hasn't been anyone to teach air bending in a hundred years." She said. If he could do two then he must have been able to do the others. There had never been someone who could bend two or three elements. It was all, one, or none. That was the way it was.

"I… need to practice. My body isn't used to bending. I know how to do it but I still can't put the right energy behind the movement. So with practice I can do earth and air. As for a teacher." He thought for a moment. Technically Yoko had passed the knowledge to him that counted as teaching. "My teacher is definitely older than a hundred."

Katara relaxed her shoulders and thought. She didn't feel any fear of Naruto any longer. She felt the need to be cautious now but it wasn't fear.

Naruto wasn't the avatar. That was what he had said anyway. What did that leave? Nobody but the avatar could bend the four elements. It was the way the world worked, the way it had always worked. If Naruto could then it meant that the universe had slipped up somewhere or something was changing. "What are you then?" she asked. "You said you're not the avatar but you can bend more than one element. Something only the avatar can do." She looked up at him.

He saw hope and desperation in her eyes. Something he hadn't seen since Sakura had asked him to bring back Sasuke. He knew what the look meant. She needed something. In this instance it was the avatar. She needed the avatar back in the world but more importantly she needed the balance that the avatars return would bring.

"If you're not the avatar then what are you?"

Naruto felt bad now. He had wanted to talk to her, to connect if possible. First he made her fear him and now he was about to crush her hope. 'No.' he though. She wanted the avatar back and he knew that Aang was going to be returning. "I'm… here to bring back the avatar." Naruto lied. "He's alive, still." He saw Katara's eyes go wide, the desperation gone, leaving only hope. "He's here. In the South Pole. I came here early so I could find him when he woke. Plus being early will allow me to get used to bending. It's… new to me and I'll need to know how to if I plan on helping him."

"So…" Katara didn't finish. He was alive. If Naruto was telling the truth then everything she had hoped for was true. The avatar was still alive.

"Yeah. He's coming back." Katara jumped at him, her arms wrapping around his neck, knocking him backward. She was seemed so small as she was and her frame fit against him leaving both completely comfortable in their position.

"Thank you."

Naruto shook his head. "I haven't done anything." He said as he wrapped his arms around her back. "I'm just here to make sure that the avatar succeeds and I've got a few weeks before I can even do that."

Katara didn't move as she spoke. Her fear had been completely diminished and her need to be cautious had faded when he'd said that his goal was to help the avatar. Sure he could be lying but she felt the need to trust him now. It might have been her wish for peace to return but she didn't care. All she cared about was that the boy she was on top of had said that he was trying to help the one person who could bring peace back to the world. "How much longer?" she asked quietly

"Two and a half weeks."

She felt her lips tug up into a smile and her eyes water. She tightened her hold on Naruto as the first of her tears fell.

'**Tell her that she can't tell anyone about anything you've said. Your mission is something that only you were supposed to know about and the fewer who know what you can do the better.'** Yoko instructed.

Naruto mentally nodded. "Katara?"

"Yes." She said. The tears in her eyes were flowing freely, the smile never leaving her lips.

"I have to ask you not to speak of what I am to anyone. Right now I'm not entirely alive but I'm not dead either. I crossed from the spirit world directly into the South Pole. I can do what I can because of my connection to the original avatar and the only reason I'm even here right now is because the spirits feel that if something is not done then the war will only become worse." He pulled her back a little. So he could see her. His blue eyes met hers. "No one is supposed to know why I'm here. I told you so you could help me. I doubt that I can actually achieve anything without some form of help and I don't really want to. I've always enjoyed working with people that were close to me. You saved my life yesterday when you could have given into your fear and left me. That makes you important to me, close to me. So I'm willing to trust you with this." He paused a moment as he one of her tear drops landed on his nose. "Can I?"

She nodded. If he needed her to keep a secret then she was fine with it. As long as he was telling the truth then she would help him in any way he needed.

"Thank you." he said as he lowered her head back to his shoulder. He closed his eyes and felt the tension he'd felt disappear leaving him relaxed again. It was peaceful again and only the sounds of Katara's happy sobs broke the silence. Soon even they stopped. He hadn't been sure how long it had been since Katara had entered the tent. An hour, maybe less. Someone would come to check on her eventually, he concluded before he fell asleep.

Kanna (Gran gran) walked into the tent a half an hour later. Her granddaughter had yet to exit and it was time to check on the boy that she'd brought back. He wasn't really in that bad of shape. He was just cold. Really, really cold. His body temperature was normal though and none of his limbs showed any signs of frostbite. She smiled at the scene in front of her. She didn't know the boy at all but she felt a power in him. Something she hadn't felt since she'd entered the shrine in the northern water tribe. It was as if the spirits had marked him.

She left them like she found them. Sleeping in the other's arms, a smile on both their faces. She simply pulled the blanket over them and left. 'I'm going to enjoy the next few day's' she thought as she walked toward the fire that had been built in the center of their camp.

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This wasn't a very active chapter but again, I was setting something up. I enjoy to actively intermingle the romance with the main character into the plot and to do that I need a relationship between Naruto and Katara. This was where I started that relationship.

Any ideas on anything about this story are welcome. I will read them and I will consider them. I'm looking specifically for a way to start the 'romantic' relationship between Naruto and Katara.

Peace Out!


	4. Chapter 4

AN: Sorry for the wait. I've been working on my other story. **'Diclonius Naruto'**. I'm working on my longest chapter yet I've already got more than ten thousand words. I'm not sure if any of the chapters in this story will get that long but I'll try.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Avatar: the last air bender

Naruto walked through the small camp. It was larger than a normal, traveling, camp but it wasn't really meant to be a camp. It was all that was left of the southern water tribe. He scowled slightly at the sight. He had Yoko's memories, the memories of the majestic capital that could double as a stronghold. The current village was more like the refugee area of the old capital during Yoko's time.

It wasn't bad, he noticed. None of the villagers looked unhappy. They lived close to their families and friends without the need to hide things or fight. The threat of the fire nation was still there though, hiding behind there smiles. Two weeks and the avatar would be back and he could start to fix this world.

He reached the small fire that Kanna was sitting at. "Hey." He said as he sat down next to her.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked. He'd only just started to walk around and he seemed fine but she had to make sure that he was okay. Especially with the way Katara acted around him. She peeked at him every now and then, just short glances that one wouldn't notice unless they followed her line of sight. Their camp was small enough for her to see him no matter where he went. Kanna smiled softly at the way her granddaughter acted.

"Yes." Naruto answered. "Thank you again"

Kanna nodded as she turned back to the fire. "There's no need to thank me." Kanna said. "Katara did most of the work." She said. It was a small lie. Katara had helped her but her granddaughter didn't have skills to help him on her own. She glanced at Katara who didn't seem to notice the comment. "If you want to thank somebody then thank her."

Naruto sighed. That was great. He'd already thanked her for saving him and then she fell asleep on top of him. Sure it was the best sleep he'd gotten in… forever. Things got complicated when they woke up. Katara was flush against him, her forehead placed against his neck. Naruto had been the first to wake and he had to restrain a laugh when he heard her light snore. She'd woken shortly after to see him watching her. Her cheeks flared red before she jumped off him.

He hadn't spoken to her yet, though he noticed her watching him. He'd yet to talk to her, really talk to her. She knew who he was now and why he was in her world but he knew nothing about her. He wanted to learn about her too. Though it may have been a bad idea. He couldn't get attached to her after all. He would have to go with Aang when he awoke and he doubted that Katara would leave her home to go with him.

She was a water bender though. He could feel the energy flowing through her. It was weak but the pure potential that she held made him want to see her at full strength.

The thought reminded him of his own training. He needed to get to his full strength. He'd been relaxing his body since he got up, letting his senses roam, and trying to feel the different energies that his body held. Energy bending was so simple, easy. He was doing it witout even thinking. Whenever he approached somebody he felt their body. As they spoke their energy shifted and swirled and when a something stressful or hectic came up, he could feel their energy change.

He could feel the elements inside him. They weren't separated, which made it harder to locate each individual one, they blended together throughout his body.

It was easy though, easier than using Jutsu anyway. With Jutsu he had to use Chakra and he only had so much. Bending was easier because there was no limit. As long as he was capable of fighting then he could bend. The act of bending was the only thing he needed to work on now. "I'll thank her a little later, when we're alone again." Kanna's eyes narrowed slightly and he turned away knowing what she was thinking. "If you don't mind I'm going to go explore the area again."

"That's fine." She said. Her voice was a little harder than it'd been. She was playing with the boy. He thought it was real too which made it all the better. "Try not to cause any trouble."

Naruto forced a smile. "I won't." he left immediately, not wanting to be near her. She knew how deadly elderly women could be when they got angry and he didn't want to be near Kanna if she was angry at him, especially if the reason was her granddaughter.

He found the exit to the camp. There was a small snow wall that surrounded the entire thing so the break in the wall was the obvious exit. He walked further, not stopping till the camp was out of sight. He was at least two miles into the wilderness of the south. It would be a good place to start. He'd stayed along the water, planning to start his training. Underneath the snow there was earth, near the ocean there was water and fire and air came from within him. "Perfect."

He had two weeks to train himself before the Aang awoke. He wasn't sure where it would be but he knew it would be near the water tribe. That was what Lu Wei had said. He wished he knew where, it'd save him time and effort, but all that mattered was the awakening.

He held his hand out, focusing his Chakra. The Rasengan formed in his palm. He sighed happily. He could definitely use his former abilities. "Okay!" he said loudly as the Rasengan disappeared. "Time to start." He sucked in air, letting it fill his lungs again. This was the first move he'd done and he wanted to do it again. Just once to show that he could indeed use the bending arts. Fire exploded from his mouth, melting the snow in front of him away showing the ground.

He closed his mouth stopping the flame as he scanned his mind quickly thinking of the next move to attempt. He looked at the ground and, without completely thinking it through, took a step forward and slammed his foot to the ground. A small crack formed in the ground a few feet ahead of him. The move was supposed to launch a piece of the earth into the air. It had tried to work, the ground had split, but he still had a ways to go.

**(A week later)**

They still hadn't talked, which bothered him immensely. He'd tried several times but Kanna always chose those moments to step in and decided that she needed Katara's help with something. Katara herself was growing tired of her grandmothers nagging. She knew that, even in her old age, her grandmother was a capable women and didn't really need her help. So why was she constantly bothering her.

It wasn't all the time only when Naruto decided to talk to her or ask her to come with him. she'd go, of course, but 'pop' there was gran gran appearing out of nowhere with a chore she needed help with. It was beginning to grow a annoying. After a week of it she decided that she'd talk to him when her grandmother couldn't interfere. It was obvious that he wanted to talk after all.

Unfortunately, she couldn't leave the village as freely as Naruto did. He'd disappear during the day for five or six hours. Nobody knew where he went and she was only allowed to leave when she went fishing with Sokka. So the day was crossed out of possible times to speak with him. He'd try to speak with her in the morning or at twilight normaly and that was also crossed out because of gran gran. That left night.

She got up and exited her tent quietly. Her brother's tent was next to hers and she knew how loud they could be. She walked slowly through the small camp, trying to take as heavy steps as possible. The harder she stepped the quicker the crunch of snow was. If she stepped lightly then it would only make the noise drawn out.

Naruto was sitting on his sleep mat, meditating. After a week of training it was easier to separate the core elements inside his body. Meditation helped though. It cleared his mind and let him dive into himself. He could feel each individual energy inside him. The fire was warm while the water was soothing. The earth was stable and assuring while the air was quick and comforting. Each one had its own feel and it helped to know each one.

"Naruto." It was a whisper but he was a ninja. He could hear it clearly and knew it was Katara. He took a deep breath as he fell out of meditation. He opened his eyes and went to let her in.

Katara hadn't thought about the possibility of him being asleep and now that she was outside of his, dark, tent she knew she might be disturbing him. It opened though, revealing a smiling Naruto. He motioned her to come inside and she did so immediately. He moved to the side as she crawled in. she literally had to. Unlike the normal homes in the camp, his wasn't always there. They'd set it up for him so he could stay in the camp.

Originally he'd been offered to bunk with someone else but the tents were relatively small so he decided against it. Instead of that they'd set up a smaller version of their tents for him. He couldn't stand in it but for the last week it'd been home. Katara sat across from him, on top of his sleep mat while he sat on the other end of it. There really was only enough room for the sleep mat. The tent was seven feet long and about four feet wide.

For a while they just sat there. Every time Naruto had tried to talk to her during the day he'd started with a 'hey, what's up.' or something similar. It didn't feel right in this situation so he didn't really know what to say. Plus, she had come to him so she must have wanted to talk about something. So silence took over. Neither really saying anything. Naruto simply looked at her while she looked back at him.

If it was lighter she would have seen the red stain on her cheeks. She really hadn't thought her little plan through. Night, what happens at night. People sleep. In the south it was cold so people often slept fully dressed. Naruto's tent was at least twenty degrees warmer than hers though and he wasn't exactly 'fully dressed'. He still had on the dark pants they'd given him. But the blue tunic that he wore under his coat every day was folded next to his mat.

Katara herself discarded her coat when she'd sat down.

He was fit. And every few minutes her eyes would stray downward. She had no doubt Naruto noticed. Every time she realized she was staring at his body she snapped her eyes back to his face and sure enough he was staring directly at her. At least he didn't say anything. She doubted she could come up with a reasonable sounding excuse for ogling his body.

Finally, she decided, something needed to be said. she'd come here with the intention of talking to him and so far they'd just looked at each other. "Did you make it so warm in here?" she asked, trying to start some form of conversation.

He nodded. "Yeah. I've never really minded the cold but I prefer heat. Since I can make it warmer I thought 'why not'."

She nodded. She'd lived her entire life in the cold and she knew she preferred the warmth. She liked it. It had to be sixty maybe seventy degrees in the small shelter. She'd honestly never been this warm without her coat on. The South Pole ran at a normal temperature of twenty degrees. It varied depending on the time of year but it never passed thirty. To her, this felt great. To Naruto, it was a little colder than an average day in Konoha.

"Could you make it warmer?" She asked, hoping he could.

He hesitated but nodded. He cupped his hands around his mouth like he was about to shout. He let the warm feeling take over him as he breathed out. The room heated instantly. Only about five degrees but you could feel the change. He didn't expect to see her smile at the action. It caused his own lips to twitch up. "You seem… okay, with what I can do. Better than last time anyway."

She lowered her head a little. "I… trust you. For now anyway. When you give me proof that the avatar is alive, here, then I'll trust you completely." She told him. She silently hoped that he was telling the truth, that he wasn't lying as she could trust him completely.

Naruto laughed softly. "I'll wait for your trust." He said. "But you have mine. You saved my life and I know I'd get a ton of shit from Lu Wei if I died." he paused, seeing the confusion on her face. "Lu Wei was the spirit that passed me through the spirit realm when I died. He's the one that sent me here."

"You died?" Katara asked quietly.

"Yeah." Naruto grinned. "I couldn't be here if I was alive my home world."

That made sense. "But why. Why would you give up you life to come here?" that's what didn't make sense. She wouldn't die to go to a different world. Sure her life wasn't the best but she'd never give it up.

Naruto sighed. "The balance of both worlds," he started remembering the phrase, "is more important than the life of one." He shifted his eyes away from her. "There were three things that balanced my world. One was the military, another was the Demons, and the third was rogues. The ones who disserted their homes and left there army. The overall foundation for my world was war."

Katara was about to say something but Naruto cut her off. "The militaries fought each other and every now and then the rogues would grow too powerful. The militaries would join together to fight them and they would win. Then the demons would cause the militaries to break apart and start fighting each other again. A never ending circle of war. That was my worlds balance. And it was always balanced."

Katara didn't say anything for a while and Naruto wasn't going to continue until she spoke. "Who were you?" she asked. "What were you?"

"A soldier. A tool for my home. We didn't bend the elements there like people do here. We could control them, true, but not to the same extent." Naruto formed a Rasengan in his palm. "This is one of my strongest attacks." He said. It wasn't an elemental attack but it was still his strongest.

Katara stared at it. It was beautiful. He'd said attack though, one of his strongest, that meant it was dangerous. How could such a beautiful thing be dangerous?

He cut it off suddenly. She looked up to see him smiling. "You can make a similar thing with water bending, though it's far less dangerous." He got an idea off that. He knew enough now. It'd only been a week but he'd been able to control all the elements on a whim. Not anywhere near the level of a master or even a normal user but he could do the basic movements for all four and he was growing better every day.

As he was he had to be stationary to control them. By the end of the week he'd be able to fight though. He could feel himself progressing every day. He'd learn something or do something that he hadn't been able to the previous day or he would simply surprise himself with a move he hadn't completely thought through. Either way, he was getting better. "I could help you with your water bending." He said. "You'd have to come with me when I leave to train but I'm sure your grandmother would allow it."

Katara's eyes widened as she filled with excitement. First, she would be able to learn how to control her bending. Second, once she was good enough she'd be able to re-create the ball he'd formed. "She'd say yes. She considers my abilities to be a lost art a rarity in the South Pole. She'd let me learn how truly do it."

'**She won't be able to teach the Avatar.'** Yoko said, drawing Naruto's attention. **'Lu Wei was very clear. You can have no part in the training of the Avatar. If you train her and then she trains him, you would be the indirect cause. You need to tell her that before she accepts.'**

He hadn't thought of that.

A smile lit his face as he thought about that. Katara was a water bender. The only one in a south pole. Where the avatar would awaken. If she was trained she could teach Aang, she could go with them.

"No." he said suddenly, surprising Katara. "I can't teach you." he shifted his eyes away from hers. He'd just said he would teach her, something she wanted, and then changed his mind. She knew his purpose at least, he could tell her. "I was given a very… specific set of rules. One of them restricts me from having anything to do with the Avatar's training and you are the only water bender in the South Pole."

Katara looked at him a moment. It took a moment for her to figure out what he was saying but she was an intelligent girl. "No!" she all but yelled. She couldn't let people know she was there. "I can't teach the avatar. I hardly know anything about water bending and he has to master every element._ Master_. I can't help with that."

That was true. "He has to follow the cycle and that means he has to master water bending first. I'm not allowed to teach him and if I taught you anything then I would be indirectly helping with his training. You are the only one that can teach him anything and as his guardian I… I need you to do that." He said, forcing his gaze back to her. "Please." he finished. There wasn't much he could do but ask her too.

"But…" Katara didn't know what to do. The avatar was the shining light in her life. A sign that there was something good left. He was the one person that was able to master all four elements, he was the bridge. The spirits gave him their power to balance the world. How could she possibly help someone like that?

"We still have time Katara. If you say no, then I'll train you while I'm still here. When the avatar awakens, though, I'll have to leave with him and that'll be as far as we get in training. If you say yes then I'd have to ask you to make a rather difficult decision." Naruto said. He reached up, his hand falling over hers. "I'd ask you to come with us when we left."

Honestly he wanted her to. It was a simple want, and it was something he didn't understand. All he knew was that she was… addictive almost. He wasn't sure how to describe it. He knew that he'd seen her, she'd saved him, and he didn't want to part with her. It was truly that simply.

She stared at him wide eyed unable to actually come up with a response. How did someone respond to that? Saying yes would mean giving up her family, her friends, and going with Naruto and the Avatar. _The Avatiar._ There were benefits, like with every decision, but she wasn't sure they outweighed the consequences. It would be easier to say no as well. She wouldn't have to change anything and she'd just readjust to her life without Naruto.

"Okay…"

Naruto's eyes widened as his mouth stretched into a full out grin.

Katara wasn't sure why but just the simple thought of readjusting to life 'without' Naruto made her cringe. She didn't know why she'd added that small part. It was inside her mind and she didn't need her to censor it yet she'd added that. She could have just said life would go on as normal.

No.

She'd have to readjust.

"I'll go with you." she said, smiling slightly. "I really don't know much about water bending though. I probably won't be able to help much."

Naruto knee walked to her and pulled her hands to his. His eyes were better than a human's, they always had been, and he could see the blush that lit Katara's cheeks when he grabbed her. "Do you know any water bending?" she nodded. "Then you just need to practice. I'll tell Kanna that's what we're going to do and you can come out and practice with me the rest of the week. I won't be able to help you beyond moral support but you will improve."

She was still smiling but Naruto could feel the influx of emotions swirling inside her. He pulled her hands to him before releasing them and reaching for her. Twisting his legs sideways, he swiveled on his knee caps and fell to his sleep mat, Katara on top of him.

The confusion that he could feel inside her slipped away as she rested on his chest too embarrassed by the sudden change in position to actually say or do anything but sit there. "Rest up, Kat." He said his chest rumbling beneath her. It sent a shiver down her body but still relaxed her. She eased into his body, making herself comfortable against him. She felt Naruto's arm slide around the back of her neck, slip through her hair and pluck out the bands that held her hair in loops before he rested it just behind her, his fingers still tangled slightly in it.

She fell asleep quickly.

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I finally got back to this story. It took me a while but here it is. Hopefully it meets your standards

Read and review!

Peace Out!


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